This invention relates to pipe elbows or bends, and a method for making the same, and is particularly directed to a more economically produced pipe elbow or bend, as compared with known elbows or bends. While the invention is of especial importance with respect to pipe elbows of large diameter, it will be apparent that the invention is also useful with respect to pipe elbows or bends of smaller diameter.
In the past, it has been conventional to produce pipe elbows or bends, wherein each of the pipe sections, when viewed from the side, have a trapezoidal shape, the pipe sections being joined together so that the shorter sides of the trapezoids are on the side of the pipe elbow toward the center of curvature of the elbow.
In the formation of such pipe elbows, the trapezoidal sections were cut in a suitable manner from a straight pipe. The cutting resulted in the formation of waste portions between the adjacent sections of the pipe elbow, and such waste portions had only scrap value.